The Dehumanizing Process
by America's Roast Beef Yes Sir
Summary: Sequel to Pure Hatred. Katara is struggling to keep herself together as she heals from her wounds physically and mentally. -This story is complete. A sequel has been released. Go to my bio to access it.-
1. Separation, Information, Rehabilitation

_(Disclaimer: I do not own the title, Avatar, or any of its contents.)_

_(**This story is a sequel to "Pure Hatred." It is Rated M due to graphic description and language.)**_

**1  
Separation, Information, and Rehabilitation**

_Aang frantically looked for an exit. At the end of every hallway, he saw a guard waiting for him. Exerting all of his energy, he took off full speed towards the end of the hall, launching attacks at the guards and flinging them to their doom. He took Katara through the back exit. He would return here once again, to free the others._

She woke up to a very tranquil but dark environment; inside a warm tent lying on a nice, comfortable bed. However, there were three other people in her room.

"Sir, if I could speak with the waterbender?" an Earth Kingdom soldier with a notepad, ink bottle, and pen declared at a medical officer.

"In a minute," said the officer. "You'll get your turn."

"I don't have all day."

"My name is Liu," he began. "This is my assistant, Shai. A friend left you here at the medical barracks. You've been under some heavy injuries and drug doses, and have been unconscious for quite a while, so I'll just start from the top."

"Who took me here?" Katara demanded.

"He didn't say his name," the medical officer replied. "What's strange is that I can't even remember his face."

"He was wearing a mask, sir," the medic's assistant said. "A red mask."

Katara could have sworn that she had saw Aang rescue him. "Yes, a mask," the medic agreed.

While the medical officer wrote down some information, Katara gazed at her body. Bandages were wrapped around her torso and arm. There was a wet cloth on her head. Her body was very clean and didn't have any dirt on it. She felt drowsy and weak.

"You have a large concentration of chi blocker in your bloodstream, which can be very lethal. I have given you a medicine from the purple cotton plant that will demolish the chi blocker in your blood stream. Your waterbending abilities will be restored in a matter of days. The severe cuts on your arm will clear up fast as the chi blocker is diminished. Your midsection has bruises and burns wrapped around it, which will also heal fast as the purple cotton plant does its work. However, joints in your midsection have been severely damaged, so you should stay in bed for a week or two. I'll apply the cotton plant again next week for these joints to heal faster. There are also some minor cuts and scrapes on your legs and back, which aren't a big deal."

Katara looked around the tent. She suddenly recieved horrifying memories of her experiences. There were two tables with torture weapons beside her; shiny knifes on the left, pliers and pinchers on the right. Dust was covered on the floors. Dried blood was smeared on the walls. The bricks on the wall stood out like bright colors. She snapped back into reality, blinking numerous times.

"I wouldn't say that you were lucky to be alive," the medical officer continued. "You've been really strong, Katara. I've had many patients that were tortured in similar ways that you were, and they haven't turned out so well. Just make sure you are supplied with water and fruits, and you'll be out of here quick. You're safe with us, Katara. These tents and barracks are packed in tight. Entrance to entrance."

"Liu, if I may?" the soldier impatiently asked. The medic nodded and stepped to the side, blending into the corridor of the tent. The soldier stepped up. "My name is Captain Unago, 1st Division, Fissure Squad. First, let me explain of what you have gone through. The torture facility that you have been to is a compound that we have been searching for years. Dozens of civilians have been captured and held at this facility. Very few have escaped, and a handful have survived their injuries. We need a description of the facility. The chamber, your transport; anything."

Katara paused, knowing that this was the moment where she was supposed to respond. But the memories were too painful to think of.

"Ma'am, this is a serious matter. If you tell us the slightest detail, then you will be helping us save innocent souls that are being tortured as we speak."

She was no different from the rest of them. And this was a tough thing to put out. "It's underground," Katara replied. Captain Unago automatically began writing those two words, indicating that it was a big piece of information. Images flashed before her eyes, and she ignored them harshly. The captain looked like he wanted Katara to expand, but understood that it was hard for her to endure flashbacking to her torture.

"Were you being held anywhere else besides this compound?"

Katara began to sob. Lie, the medical officer, stepped in and spoke to Captain Unago.

"Maybe you should come back later, captain," he said. Without saying anything, he left with a grimace on his face. Liu and his assistant left, too, being called from another tent in the barracks.


	2. Losing Trust and Personality

_(Disclaimer: I do not own the title, Avatar, or any of its contents.)_

**2  
Losing Trust and Personality**

_"Katara," he whispered into her ear. "I know it hurts, and I know you don't want to leave, but I have to finish something." He took the red mask out behind his back and placed it on his face. Suddenly, the mask started to deform._

_In horror, the dark eyes of Red Eye peered over her, giving her a haunting look._

_"No!"_

_-_

She woke up, sweaty and cold at the same time. Medical Officer Liu rushed in, standing beside Katara's bed.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

"Doctor," she struggled to say. "Is there a side effect... to the medicine?"

"The chi blocker?" Liu asked.

"Yes," Katara replied.

"Other than drowsiness," he explained, "No." He saw that Katara looked uneasy. "Is there something wrong?" He asked the question again.

"No," Katara finally answered.

Looking a little concerned and confused, he left, leaving a small peach on the table beside her. Slowly sitting up, numerous shots of pain rushed through her body as she finally leaned her back against the back panel, reaching for the peach. She took a bite, but her saliva was too slippery and thin for her to taste it. Knowing that there wasn't really a choice to be made here, she finished eating the peach and took a long drink out of her canteen, resuming her original position on the bed.

It's been a week since she last saw Aang, Sokka, Toph, Momo, and Appa. Everything still hurt. Her mind was a complete blur. If there were some mind-controlling disease in the medical barracks, she would be the best hostess for it. Nothing was so different from yesterday or the day before.

The dream, or nightmare, she just had was easy to forget. It was similar to any other dream, or so she thought. But like any other nightmare, it was hard to go back to sleep.

Red Eye...

That name echoed through the complexity of her mind, and there wasn't much empty space. The events she experienced through the course of a week completely traumatized her, but like the "mother" she is, she tried to hide it. So her feelings were completely bottled up inside like a heavy backpack, and it would keep on filling up with more things until she got it out. No one was her friend at the moment, and no one really cared. The medical officers are just doing their jobs. They don't care... they never gave a shit about how anybody else felt. If it weren't for their supervisors they'd be slacking off and smoking pipes off in the corners of the medical barracks.

-

It was the break of dawn. The sunlight peered through the opening of the tent, waking Katara. Her joints felt a little better since Shai massaged her with some healing oil, which usually gets the chi pumping. And while she was sleeping... Looking over at the table beside her, more fruits and a refilled canteen were placed on top of the surface. She couldn't eat another peach...

Wait a minute... the dream she had about a minute ago, just before she woke up, showed the man in the blank mask, III, dumping a blue liquid into the barracks' water supply. It must have been poison...

Just a dream. Relaxing herself, Katara again sat up, this time with less struggle. She reached over for a different fruit; an apple. Before she ate it, Captain Unago walked in to talk to her.

"Good morning, Katara," he said. "I'm Captain Unago, 1st--"

"First division, fissure squad," the waterbender interrupted. "I know who you are. I have overdosage and injuries, not amnesia."

"My apologies, Katara," Unago replied. "You seem a little tense today."

"You were no different the first time I met you," she said. "Get to the point, Captain."

"Right." Unago cleared his throat. "We've pinpointed the location of the torture facility. All we need is you."

"Forget it!" Katara declared. There was a pause of thought. "I'm not going back there," she finally said.

"Katara, I know it's hard for you to endure it," Unago said. "But we must bring down this reign of terror. You are the only one that knows the inner workings of the facility."

"You're right, I am." Katara started to yell, forgetting the pain. "The workings are simple: they torture people with pliers and then stab them continuously until they bleed to death."

The tent grew silent. Unago took on a chair on the left side of Katara's bed, as she looked at the opposite direction.

"Katara," he said, changing the tone of the conversation. "Your friends... who are they?"

"So now you are going to interrogate me?"

"The last thing I want to do is interrogate you," Unago replied. "I know it may not seem like this, but I'm your friend." Katara didn't believe him. "If your scared, or feel lonely, talk to me. You've been through hard times, and I can honestly say that what you've been through is impossible for me to go through." Unago got up from the chair. "You just remember that."

He left the tent, leaving a very peaceful atmosphere, but whatever they dished out on Katara never worked...


	3. The Dehumanizing Process

**3  
The Dehumanizing Process**

"How many times have I told you?" Katara exclaimed. "No! There is nothing in the world you can do that can make me change my mind."

Captain Unago looked dejected. Liu, the newly recruited medical assistant, walked into the tent at the same time Unago exited the tent, making it look like a circus rally. He set three more pieces of fruit on the stand beside Katara's bed, and was on his way out.

"Why do I have to eat so much fruit?" Katara asked, holding back Liu's departure.

"Fruit gives you water, vitamins, and nutrients," Liu answered in a monotone voice that sounded like he'd been training for hours for his dialogue. _It'll also probably give a better attitude to replenish your damaged one._

"Why not any vegetable or grain?" Katara questioned.

Liu walked hard right at Katara, preparing to end the trivia. "Because there are dozens of wounded left in this medical camp that need it. And I believe you were the last one here." He answered the question in a way in which he didn't heat up the atmosphere. "And... vegetables don't grow in this part of the forest."

"And what forest would that be?"

_Take it easy, Liu,_ he thought. _She is just a kid. An injured kid who has come under our aid._ "Li Mei."

Liu continued to straighten things out in the tent. He could feel Katara eating her fruit and drinking water out of her half-filled canteen, but all she was doing was just sitting there, looking down at her hands that were smoothing out her blanket and bandages. Then, Liu suddenly noticed something. Katara was sitting upright.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked.

"A little..." she managed to say, "My stomache doesn't hurt much."

Liu was finished cleaning the tent. At the same moment, a bell in the distance rang three times. Liu looked up at the walls of the tent in concern. _Three rings... this is bad._ "Katara, I'll be back."

"What is that?" Katara was confused. She didn't know the meaning of three bell signals.

Liu exited the tent without answering her question. Katara could hear a bunch of commotion and ruckus outside. Someone was screaming just like the way she screamed during her torture. She shivered. The medical officers were yelling at each other.

"Does he have it? Does he have it?"

"I don't know! I think he does!"

"Calm down! We aren't sure yet!"

Suddenly, Katara heard horrific screams, followed by a gurgling sound.

"Strap him down! He's infected!"

The petrified waterbender could hear metal clinging all over the place outside like a percussion ensemble, followed by a loud ripping noise. Suddenly, there was a burst of sound as a quarrel turned into a giant rampage. A splatter of silhouetted goo spurted onto the outside walls of the tent.

"Liu, give me the syringe and needle before he capsizes!"

The sound turned into silence. Everyone stood still. The "infected" man could be heard struggling on the gurney he was strapped on to. Katara tried to listen harder, but the entire scene became quiet. She could just picture them looking down at the bloody corpse...

The doctors began reorganizing the damaged scene. A medical officer was spraying some kind of unknown vapor on the outside walls of Katara's tent, presumably decontaminating it. An eternity later, one of the medical officers began talking again.

"...Just burn the body... clean the gurney while you're at it..."

After what seemed like hours, Liu walked back into Katara's tent, finding her completely frozen and frightened to death. Her eyes were glistening with tears of fear.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that, Katara," Liu finally broke the silence.

"What was that?" her voice was half-muffled and half-silenced.

"It's better if you don't know," Liu reluctantly answered.

"Tell me-"

"Anthanicitis," Liu loudly answered, not wasting any time to explain what it was. "After numerous hours of torture, the body is injected with quarts and quarts of chi blocker. It is highly possible for the body to drown at that time, but if lucky, it survives."

"That wasn't what I saw," Katara said.

Liu took a deep breath, knowing that the next part of the explanation would completely petrify Katara. "If the body does survive, the subject may tend to show irritability and rage before it... breaks out. If the body does break out its chi in unlimited amounts, then the subject turns inhumanly and goes on a rampage. In less than 60 seconds, the body... the body capsizes. Then the subject turns into something we have no knowledge of."

Katara put her hand over her mouth in horror. Liu continued.

"It is something that we hate to call, **The Dehumanizing Process.** A process in which the body slowly breaks down into the unthinkable and does unspeakable things."

Katara wiped the tears away from her eyes, straightened herself out, and just sat there in disbelief.

"I'm gonna have to transfer you to a different tent," Liu said. "Can you walk on your feet?"

Katara's feet shivered. She did what she usually did when she was speechless; just looked down.

"It's alright," Liu said. "I'll roll you to the tent."

Liu pushed Katara's bed on its wheels and exited the tent.

-

The waterbender continued to shiver. Liu gave her another blanket.

"It's a cold night..." Liu said, placing the blanket over her.

"Is that..." Katara began to speak, clearing her throat from the silence. "Is that going to happen to me?"

Liu stood by the crevasse of the tent. "I highly doubt it."

"How can you tell?" Katara asked.

Liu grinned. "Because... you've been eating your fruits." He finally left.


	4. Baby Steps

**4  
Baby Steps**

_She struggled on the cold floor and inched her way towards civilization. Her body ached from the wounds and bruises and her mind was disoriented. She tried to rest, but she was worried that they may come after her._

_The waterbender couldn't go any further. She flopped over on her back, breathing uneasily. She passed out..._

_-_

It was an easy awakening this time. Katara looked up at the tent ceiling, gazing at the blurred shadowy figures that the trees casted at dusk. She looked over at the stand; fresh fruits and a half-filled canteen await her, as usual.

Katara sat up without struggle; it felt weird, however, not experiencing any pain or recoil. She grabbed the fruit, a pair of kiwis, and began eating them without peeling the outside skin. On time, and on cue, Captain Unago arrived at her tent for his daily attempt to convince the waterbender for information.

"Katara," he lazily greeted. "Obviously, you know why I'm here. I came to talk to you about-"

"Listen," Katara interrupted. "I've seen it. I've seen anthanicitis." Unago stroked his beard. "I'm sorry about before. I didn't have any clue on what happened _after_ they tortured. I don't want to see anybody with that disease."

"I understand," Unago confirmed. "But, it isn't a disease." Katara looked up at the captain. "It's biological warfare. We the resistance have discovered that the fire nation is attempting to cripple the Earth Kingdom from the inside by unleashing a contagious 'virus' from within the nation. Anthanicitis is simply a bioweapon."

Katara couldn't believe the sickness and cruelty the fire nation could unleash upon the war, or more importantly, the world.

"Now," Unago continued, "Are you ready to lead us to the facilities? Well, until you're healed, of course. I'll let you think about it."

Katara's eyes widened. Physically? She wasn't sure if she could even walk yet. Liu walked in the tent, leaving Unago to step aside to the corner.

"Time for healing trials," Liu said, just in time.

"Healing trials?" Katara questioned.

"Yes." Liu lifted up Katara's blanket, revealing her bandaged legs and torso. "I'm just trying to get a little creative with my health terms. I'm still young and learning." Liu flung the blanket to the base of the bed.

"Really?" Katara said. "How old are you?"

Liu raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Just curious..." Katara answered, looking down at the bed.

"Sixteen," Liu reluctantly answered. He hated giving away his age to strangers; sometimes even his name.

He handed the waterbender authentic Earth Kingdom clothes and shoes for her to wear.

"Am I supposed to wear this?" she asked.

Liu dished out a vague look. "What else are you supposed to do with them?"

_Wipe the floor_, she thought. Katara sighed, took the rags and were about to put them on, just when she noticed a slight detail. She just sat there, waiting for something. Liu scoffed and turned around.

"Thank you." Katara removed her old clothes and tossed them to the foot of the bed, then carefully put the rags on, slightly struggling. She was careful enough to not undo any bandages.

"Done?" asked Liu.

"Yes," Katara answered.

"Good." The medical officer turned around and took Katara's dirty clothes, placing them at the corner of the tent for later work. Katara put on her shoes, grunting when she stretched out her arms. "Now, let's start with the basics. With all of the chi blocker and purple cotton medicine in you, it will almost be like you're a baby who is learning how to walk. So, you know what to do."

Standing by Katara, Liu watched her get up on her feet. She then began to take small steps across the tent. Painful tremors pulsed throughout her brain. It had been a few days since she had stood up.

"What are you doing?" Liu asked. "I said 'like a baby.' You have to crawl."

"Crawl?" Katara rebutted.

"Yes. Crawl."

She thought it was insensible, but once she got on her knees and elbows, hurtful recoils started to kick in. She grunted and moaned.

"Come on," Liu said. "All the way across the tent." Katara didn't realize until now how big the tents were in length. She finally reached the other side and got up.

"Hey, I didn't tell you to get up," he chuckled. Katara pointed her eyebrows down and got back on her elbows and knees, feeling the small recoils each time she lifted and put down a limb. She crawled all the way back to Liu.

"Good," he said. "Remember, don't stop until I tell you to stop and don't go until I tell you to go. Now, follow me outside."

Outside. That phrase was repeated in her mind. Outside. She couldn't wait for that sunlight to hit her skin and feel the wind blow against her hair and face.

-

Katara violently squinted when the sun rays impacted her eyes. She looked at the sky to get used to the brightness.

"Stand over here," Liu pointed to a spot on the terrain while grabbing a piece of paper. He read the paper and rolled it up, still holding it in his hand. Katara stood where she was directed to, examining the other tents and barracks. The passages between each tent and barracks were very narrow.

"Stretch," Liu commanded in a monotonous voice. "Touch your toes." Katara reached down to the ground, and the built up pressure in her leg muscles soon let out. Katara then attempted to jump up in the air to get a little more feeling in her legs, but Liu restricted her.

"Whoa," the medical officer said. "Babies can't jump." Katara's face scrunched up. "Bring your thighs up in the air."

Katara barely managed to do so, but once she got her right thigh up in the air, all of the tension remaining in her right leg was gone. She did the same with her left leg, and got the same results.

"Good," Liu commented. "Your joints are being replenished."

Shai, Liu's assistant, arrived at the scene and took a seat under an awning at a nearby medical shack.

"Get down to your crawling stance again." Liu spoke aggressively.

"What?" Katara surprisingly said.

"On the dirt," Liu said. He wasn't joking. Liu seemed very different today. Katara licked her lips and once again got on her elbows and knees. Suddenly, a large shot of pain coursed through her body. The rough, rocky terrain was too hard on her joints. She wanted to get up, but quickly remembered what Liu remarked. _Don't stop until I tell you to stop and don't go until I tell you to go._

Katara felt humiliated; in her crawling stance like a little baby right in front of Shai. She reminded herself that this was for her own good. Liu walked over to a position in the passage that was about 10 feet away from Katara.

"Crawl to me," Liu said, without a chuckle. "Go."

The pain doubled, tripled, then quadrupled as she got closer to Liu. When she finally got there, Liu waited about five seconds, testing to see if Katara had been listening.

"Up."

Katara rose up on her feet; her head was pounding. Sweat trickled down her forehead.

"Good job, Katara," Liu commented. "Keep up the effort and you'll be good as new. We're done for today." Liu led Katara back into her tent.

-

Taking her shoes off, she plunged into the bed, completely exhausted. Then she realized that she felt _exhausted_... not _weak_...

Liu was in the corner of tent, dipping his hands in a bowl of water, cleaning them. He walked over to Katara, setting a new batch of bandages on the stand beside her bed.

"Take off your rags," Liu said.

Trying hard not to blush, she slightly hesitated before taking off the apparel, only revealing her underclothes.

"Lay back," Liu said in a soothing voice. He removed Katara's dirt-stained bandage from her torso and set it aside. The bruises that were once wrapped around her body were now beginning to fade away. Liu set his hand on Katara's torso, applying pressure and making her grunt. "Does that hurt?"

"Of course it does," Katara quietly exclaimed. Liu went to go retrieve the bowl of water and returned, applying water to her torso with a wet cloth.

"Sit up," Liu ordered. He began wrapping a fresh bandage around Katara's belly, pressing it down each time it got loose, making Katara send out painful breaths.

The medical officer removed the other old bandages, revealing the former harsh wounds to appear as fading scars. Liu applied the new bandages, gathered up the old ones, and was about to leave, but was interrupted by Katara.

"Wait," the waterbender delayed.

"What?" Liu quickly responded.

Katara wanted to ask if he had gotten any news on her friends, but she didn't. "Never mind."

Liu left the tent with her old bandages, slightly blushing.


	5. Stig Murder

**_The following chapter contains EXTREME graphic violence._**

**5  
Stig Murder**

It has been nearly two weeks since she was kidnapped; one week from when she was tortured. Katara, now nearly completely replenished and healed, was jogging alongside the medical camp's treeline.

Liu watched from the lower clearing. There was something else on his mind. Anthanicitis has taken full control over 12 patients.

"Good," Liu announced. "Keep up the pace, Katara."

Katara jogged straight, ran up and down berms, jogged backwards, and even stopped for a push up or two.

"That's enough for today," Liu yelled out to the waterbender.

Katara jogged back to Liu, with sweat dripping down her face. Suddenly, peace turned into horror.

The sound of three loud bells filled the sunny sky and rocketed through the morning dew. Katara's eyes widened. _Please,_ she thought. _Don't let it be one of them._

Liu ran to the central courtyard of the medical camp, inching through every narrow passage and navigating the maze of tents and barracks. Katara followed him, trying hard to keep up with the medical officer.

It couldn't be the Dehumanizing Process, she thought. Only soldiers and officers are running to the courtyard. Once in a while, doctors were, too, probably eager to see what is happening.

After what seemed like hours of running, Katara and Liu finally reached the courtyard.

"We got one of 'em! He's fire nation!" a soldier yelled, dragging the prisoner. Katara recognized the macabre prisoner.

Red Eye. It was Red Eye.

It took two soldiers to drag Red Eye through the dirt on his knees. Unago stood beside to what seemed like a 5 foot pole. Liu knew what was going to happen, and quickly took action.

"Katara," he said. "You don't want to see this. Let's get out of here." He had the same monotonous voice. He grabbed her arm and tried to lead her out of the courtyard, but the waterbender shoved his grip off. "Katara, let's go!"

"I know him!" Katara silently whispered to Liu, making him stay as well.

It took another soldier to tie Red Eye to the post, pulling his arms behind it and tying his wrists with rope. Unago stood in front of him with eyes of victory.

"You got the wrong guy!" Red Eye yelled. "You got the wrong fucking guy!"

A soldier lashed Red Eye's back with a whip. Another soldier did as well.

Liu nearly gasped. "Should we stop them?"

Katara violently looked away. "No..." she managed to say. Katara knew that Red Eye deserved this. There was no room left in her for mercy after what she'd been through.

After 10 lashes, Unago told the soldiers to pause their whipping. One of the soldiers, knowing he was supposed to stop, violently ripped off Red Eye's shirt.

"Now we should be on the same page," Unago said to Red Eye.

"Fuck you!" Red Eye yelled.

"Aw, no need for that language, fire nation." Unago lifted his colossal bamboo stick up into the air and swatted it down, marking Red Eye across his bare chest. Red Eye looked down in the dirt in pain.

"So, you managed to learn a few words and create a deadly serum." Unago leaned his weight on the stick.

Red Eye's nose was pouring with blood. "I already told you... I'm not a scientist!" Suddenly, he noticed the waterbender in the far corner of the courtyard. "Her! You! She knows me!"

Liu slowly backed away from the surprised Katara, wondering how Red Eye noticed her with Earth Kingdom clothes.

"Come forth, Katara," Unago commanded. The waterbender lazily walked towards the captain, dragging her feet along the rough soil. "Do you know this man?"

She thought twice. She thought of the gruesome mental consequences that would come her way if she said 'yes.' But, she answered wrongfully. "No. I've never seen him before."

"Liar!" he yelled. A soldier whipped Red Eye once again for his cruel outburst. He shrugged each whip off. Unago stared down Katara, seeking out the truth; he didn't find anything. Unago violently hit Red Eye across the face. Blood was dripping down his body.

"Scientist!" he screamed. "Scientist!"

"No!" Red Eye screamed louder. The hot sun baked the entire courtyard. "I'm not!" He stood up.

"Then who are you?" Unago asked.

Katara, in fear, tried to concentrate on what Red Eye was trying to say.

"I'm a fire nation soldier," Red Eye answered, twisting his actual identity.

"No, you are not!" Unago screamed once more.

"I'm an underground fire nation soldier!" Red Eye rubutted violently. "I'm trying to prevent what the scientists are doing! I'm on your side!" A soldier handed Unago a sharp sword; Katara's heart raced. "I'm on your side!" Red Eye scoffed in confusion, looking around the courtyard for people who would believe him.

A soldier whipped Red Eye's legs, forcing him down on his knees. Captain Unago placed his sword on the prisoner's shoulder, making him breathe heavier. He could've gotten away; but he didn't. He could've shrugged off the blade; but he couldn't.

Unago then swiftly sliced into Red Eye's shoulder, making him yelp. Crimson liquid spurted out of the slit, landing on the dry ground. He then did the same to his other shoulder. He nearly choked on his own blood. Katara and the soldiers behind Unago were completely bewildered. They have never seen their captain act so merciless.

"A demon's eyes are on your shoulders," Unago announced, staring down at the beaten prisoner, watching streams of red make its way down the body. "There will soon be one on your head." He pointed the blade right at Red Eye's head. The soldiers, tired of waiting, whipped their prisoner, creating large red prints on the prisoner's back. After 12 lashes, Red Eye was laying in his own pool of blood. Katara, horrified, couldn't watch the soldiers just beat a man laying on the floor like _that._

"Okay, okay, okay!" Red Eye was able to scream out from his lifeless body. "I'm not a fire nation soldier! I'm..."

He hesitated. He took a close look at every individual in the courtyard, looking for someone that could step up and save his life. Then he caught Katara.

"I'm a fire nation resistance fighter," he resumed, forcing Unago to drop his weapon. "My job is to capture and interrogate non-residents. One day, I found this waterbender." Red Eye lazily shrugged his shoulder towards Katara. Everyone was surprised, excluding Red Eye. Liu looked at Katara in confusion. No one there, not even Unago, has seen a waterbender in months until now. "She had been traveling with three others, whose identities I'd rather not reveal."

"Are you saying you work at one of the torture facilities?" Unago asked in a deep voice, unsure if he should believe Red Eye or Katara.

"No, she was transferred there!" He suddenly realized that he just stated the worst possible answer. The three soldiers behind him got their whips ready. "Without my knowledge... scientists inhabited that facility. They constructed anthanicitis. I tried to prevent it. Please, you have to believe me! Why would I put my own nation at risk?"

"Ha," Unago shook his head. "Even beat, battered, and humiliated on the floor, you lie." He raised his blade.

"Wait!" he begged for his life, but it was no use. Unago pointed his sword towards the prisoner's heart.

"Water tribe!" Red Eye called out to Katara. The captain pulled his sword down. Katara, holding her breath, looked directly at Red Eye. "I was the one that got you out of that chamber."

What she had feared has suddenly become reality. Tears rolled down her cheeks, disguised as sweat.

"I was the one that got the others out of the chamber," he spoke out to the doctors, including Liu. "Do I really deserve this?"

Everything became clear to Katara... the red mask in her dreams resembled Red Eye. He was the one who brought all of the tortured citizens back to this camp. But in her dreams... her dreams have been decieving.

-

"It's true," Katara admitted, looking away. Unago opened his eyes wide.

Suddenly, out of rage, a soldier behind Red Eye yielded a blade and impaled Red Eye into his back shoulder, ripping chunks of flesh from his body. Katara acted quickly and bended water from a nearby well, throwing the water into the soldier and freezing him. Katara's arms winced in pain. The other soldiers backed away. Katara bended more water out of the well and into Unago's chest, freezing him with the other soldier. A doctor behind Katara took out a syringe and needle, which Liu swiftly took action and wrestled away.

"Enough!" Liu yelled, pausing the entire scene. Suddenly, Red Eye began twitching. Blood poured out of his mouth. "This man needs help!"

Katara backed away from Red Eye as doctors crowded him.

"He has it!" a doctor yelled. "Hold him down!"

Katara shrieked. Red Eye was undergoing the Dehumanizing Process.

"Don't inject him yet!" Liu yelled, holding down the rampaging body that is Red Eye. Blood splattered all over the ground. "Patch up his wounds!"

Red Eye was screaming inhumanly. A doctor attempted to patch up his shoulder, but Red Eye snapped and sank his teeth into the doctor's arm, piercing one of his arteries. Blood hissed out of the doctor.

"Shit! He's infected!"

Liu bit off the cap of a chi-blocker needle and carefully injected Red Eye.

"I need another one!" Liu yelled as his assistant, Shai, handed him another needle. Liu injected Red Eye.

The bitten doctor immediately began Dehumanizing.

"He's got it, too!"

The infected doctor leaped towards Shai and bit a large chunk of flesh off his arm, forcing him to bleed to death. The infected doctor immediately bit Liu in the leg. Liu took evasive action and stabbed the doctor in his head with a nearby blade. Liu yelled in excruciating pain.

"Liu!" Katara yelled, completely sickened by the entire scene. She began to pray that he wasn't infected.

Katara made a run for Liu. She grabbed him and helped him out of the courtyard, leaving the remaining infected soldiers and doctors to rip each other's limbs apart. They were everywhere...

_**EPILOGUE**_

Katara dragged Liu away from the blood-scorched battle and into one of the empty medical barracks. The rampage could be heard from outside. The waterbender finally settled Liu onto one of the beds.

"It's alright, Katara," Liu said, keeping every ounce of human left in him.

Katara wrapped a bandage around Liu's leg wound and tightened it, attempting to stop the bleeding.

"I need you to be brave," Liu said. "I need you to go to the local villages and warn them about the 'virus.'"

"What about you?" Katara asked desperately.

"I..." Liu hesitated. "I think I have it."

Katara silently cried.

"There's a needle over there," Liu said, pointing to one of the syringes on a table. "Get it."

Katara grabbed the shot and weakly held it.

"Give that to me," Liu said.

Katara violently sobbed. "No!" She knew what was going to happen.

Liu twitched slightly. "Katara, please, give it to me!"

Katara gave the needle to Liu. He held it in the position.

"Katara, look at me," Liu said, with blood pouring out of his mouth. "Promise me that you will find you're friends. Promise me that you'll take care of them and make sure this... thing doesn't get to them. Promise me."

Tears overflowed Katara's eyes. Liu injected the fluids into his arm. Soon, he stopped twitching. Then, he stopped breathing.

"I promise," Katara managed to say.

-

_The waterbender exited the medical barracks, looking forward. She gazed up at the sun, and smiled._


End file.
